The Trust has added to the number of defibrillators it has available thanks to the generosity of boat group volunteers.
The third defibrillator will be stored in the Canal Centre in Loxwood, West Sussex, and taken onboard boat trips.
In 2018 a Trust-wide appeal to fund one or more machines was made and subsequently two defibrillators were purchased. One is in a cabinet on the outside wall of the Loxwood Canal Centre and available 24 hours a day thanks to a code-operated lock. In an emergency users simply have to dial 999 to get the code. The other machine is used by the Midweek Working Party to take along on their regular Wednesday work days. The Midweek Working Party is the largest of the Trust’s working parties.
The cost of just under £900 for the latest defibrillator has been covered entirely by donations from Boat Group members. Farnborough firm WEL Medical Ltd, who also supplied the two machines acquired in 2018, kindly gave a discounted price as the machine will be available to members of the public.
Boat Group member Derek Wright was the initiator of the push to carry a defib on tripboats. Derek said: “In First Aid training we have learned that the odds of bringing someone back with CPR are about 8%. If you could just grab the on-board defibrillator and get to work without delay the odds go up to about 80%.”
Fellow Boat Group member Penny Bridger and volunteer First Aid trainer organised the purchase of the new defibrillator with WEL Medical and has offered to give training on the use of machine when boat trips resume.
The group aims to have a machine on each of the trips boats. If you would like to donate to help fund this, go online at https://weyarun.org.uk/defib-appeal or make a bank transfer to CAF Bank, sort code 40-52-40 account 00024651 (please use “Defib” as a reference). Cheques can be made payable to “Wey & Arun Canal Trust” and sent to Defib Appeal, The Granary, Flitchfold Farm, Loxwood RH14 0RH.
